Separatist lined up to be Putin’s puppet leader in Ukraine ‘is shot in Crimea home’
A pro-Russian former politician in Ukraine is fighting for his life after being shot in his Crimea home, an official has said.
Oleg Tsaryov, who was reportedly being lined up to lead a puppet administration in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv after Russia’s invasion, is in intensive care, said Vladimir Rogov, a Russian-installed official in southern Ukraine.
He was reportedly shot twice at around midnight at his home in Crimea.
“Oleg’s condition is very serious. He is currently in intensive care,” Mr Rogov wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
Sources told Reuters last year that Russia had been lining up Mr Tsaryov to head a puppet government in Kyiv after Moscow’s forces invaded on 24 February.
Mr Tsaryov himself dismissed that possibility when the Financial Times reported it, citing US intelligence, ahead of the invasion.
He told the paper at the time that the idea was “pretty funny” because he was just running a wellness business in Crimea and was “not important enough”.
Previously, Mr Tsaryov had been a member of the Ukrainian parliament and then speaker of the parliament of “Novorossiya”, an entity formed after Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine broke away in 2014 and began fighting Ukrainian forces.
News of the shooting comes amid continued fighting on the front line, where Russian troops have been executed for retreating from key battles.
US intelligence said Russian soldiers had been fleeing the front line of the Kremlin’s offensive in the eastern city of Avdiivka, Donetsk.
“We have information that the Russian military has been actually executing soldiers who refuse to follow orders,” White House spokesperson John Kirby told a media briefing on Thursday.
Ukrainian forces have been repelling the Russian onslaught on the front line in Donetsk for several weeks, since mid-October.
Meanwhile, the alternative Black Sea export corridor will continue to function despite all threats, Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday morning.
The presidential office reported that Mr Zelensky had discussed the operation of the route as well as vessel insurance during a phone call with British prime minister Rishi Sunak.
On Thursday, the Kyiv-based Barva Invest consultancy, British security firm Ambrey, and a specialised outlet, Ukrainian Ports, reported that Ukraine had suspended use of the corridor due to a possible threat from Russian warplanes and sea mines.
Additional reporting by agencies
